For now, Bibi is best

I say as a left-winger

It’s easy to be angry at Netanyahu. He’s a hardcore capitalist and, on the one hand, has close Gay political friends and, on the other, ultra-right-winger Gay-haters. He is secular but always sought the fundamentalist-religious parties to form coalitions. He seems loyal to no one but himself and his family. He’s in nobody’s pocket, and that’s part of his strength.

On top of that, he was the PM longest in reign when the October-7 disaster happened. Surely, that makes him the first one responsible, no? If the bucket doesn’t stop at him, then at whom?

So be angry with me for siding with him here. But, if you can stand the facts, I want to point to some actualities that don’t fit this picture.

1. During COVID, he did the opposite of Trump and Capitalism. He prioritized a Jew worthy. He chose to protect lives first and then save the economy. He saved thousands of lives (and the economy), often against ivory-tower physicians’ advice that people always die, so free society. While Trump killed 1M, Netanyahu saved thousands. If he would have done what the West did, three times more Israelis would have died. He also warned other countries. Only the president of Austria believed him.

2. The only social worker in Israel whom I liked told me: I’m pleased when I file a report with a judge about the children in a divorce case when both parents are angry with me. I comfort myself thinking that if both are displeased, maybe I did a balanced job. A left-wing poll now found most people are dissatisfied with Bibi. That doesn’t mean he’s not doing well.

3. He messed up repeatedly, making deals with Hamas after each battle in the past, pressured by the Left and the US. The political consensus in Israel was that going all the way would just cost lives. At the beginning of the peace processes, even one of our greatest rabbis was in favor if it could save lives. (He recanted his sole position soon after he saw it didn’t work.) Only some rare hardliners, like Liberman, said: chase Hamas until they’re all dead. So for now, Bibi is the best to withstand pressure from the whole world, go after Hamas, and not quit until the job is done. When you fight cancer, you also want it eradicated until there is nothing left. His dovish stance in the past won’t look good in the history books unless they can report that, in the end, he saw his mistake and led the battle against Hamas until completion. Rabbi Nachman of Breslau says: If you can ruin it, believe you can repair it. After the war, his conduct and guilt will be professionally judged. Meanwhile, let him correct his mistake.

4. He is the only one who can say no to the extremists. He blocked Ben Gvir when he wanted to stoke tensions on Ramadan. He said to hurting family members of the kidnapped that their release has the highest priority but not at any price. You don’t make friends like that but the critical media should notice, report, and praise him for setting limits.

5. He lies, twists, spins, bluffs, and he must. You can’t win a war if you’re a goody-two-shoe politician. In the beginning, his colleagues got rid of him because he was never good for his word. That taught him you don’t lie to the ones you work with amicably. But as soon as someone goes against him, he’ll double-cross him in every way possible. I don’t blame him. Rabin OBM shook hands with Arafat while he still worked toward exterminating the Jewish People. Idealism is nice, but the Sages already warn us: If you’re nice to the cruel, you’ll end up being cruel to the nice. He abandoned the holy Jews on the West Bank because they were electorally negligible.

6. Of course, it was easier when a left-winger like Simon Peres took out the Iranian nuclear reactor than a right-winger like Bibi. Biden is a Zionist but allergic to right-wing Bibi. But then Bibi sent the left-wing future PM Gantz to Washington to convince Biden. And when that wasn’t enough, he sent LoO ultra-left-winger Lapid. He, too, knows what the Bible says: There is a time for war, and there is a time for peace. If the Allies had turned pacifists in the middle of the fight against Hitler, all of Europe would have fallen to Stalin, who then would have completed the Holocaust. We are duly warned that the withdrawal from Gaza now is not the end of the battle there. Not all hostages are freed yet, and the battle for Rafach is coming.

7. The job is likely not done with Hamas. All of Israel knows that. After that, comes neutralizing the Iranian atomic threat. It doesn’t matter if the US or Israel or both throw the bombs; both will be at war with Iran and its proxies: Qatar, Hezbollah, Houthis, and possibly Jordan and others. When (not if) the Allies have won, Iranians will be free, and democracy, peace, and safety will ‘erupt’ around the world, may it be soon. People who want Gantz to take over now don’t know what we’d be missing. After Bibi is done, not now, in the middle. Meanwhile, Gantz gets good lessons on how not to be a naïve politician. It will serve him greatly for many years.

8. Just as Ben Gvir and Gantz manage to sit in one administration, Israel can stay united, doesn’t need new elections, and will minimize the deaths of our soldiers and civilians and those of the enemy countries and troupes. The demonstrations now are unrelated to those before the Oct. 7^th attack. The earlier ones were broadly carried from the Center to the Left. Those now are mostly by an extremist left-left minority cloaked as the same. The ultra-Right ‘fury’ about ceasefires is just to win votes in the next elections.

Before the last elections, I went to Bibi’s town hall meeting for English-speakers amidst MAGA crazies and other fanatics. When Bibi arrived, the yell ‘Four more years,’ suggested and prepped by the organizers, quickly turned into ‘Ten more years,’ to which Bibi gestured: that’s a bit much. It seems he already had no ambition to do this any longer than this term.

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About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1